Family and Community Engagement Advocate (6130)

Lutheran Services Florida • Belle Glade, FL

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) is seeking a Family & Community Engagement Advocate to make a positive impact on the lives of children and families. This role involves performing duties that require advanced knowledge in social services, exercising discretion and independent judgment to provide services and support within the Head Start/Early Head Start program. Key responsibilities include managing eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance (ERSEA), facilitating parent engagement, providing health, mental health, and nutrition support, building partnerships with families to help them identify goals and strengths, assisting with family partnership agreements, and managing comprehensive family files.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or Human Services or related human services field.
• At least two years of experience working with children and families in a social services environment.
• Certification in First Aid and CPR within three months of the date assigned to this position.
• Successful completion of a Level II background screening and drug screening prior to hiring.
• Considerable knowledge of the principles and practices of social work and human behavior.
• Knowledge of human development and health.
• Knowledge of social services and health services available in the area.
• Knowledge of computer data entry processes.
• Knowledge of family-centered practices.
• Ability to communicate ideas and instructions orally and in writing.
• Ability to write reports and business correspondence.
• Ability to speak before groups of individuals.
• Ability to calculate amounts by adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing and figuring percentages.
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of instructions.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to make recommendations and develop implementation strategies.
• Basic computer skills.
• Demonstrate sensitivity to our service population’s cultural and socioeconomic characteristics and needs.

Nice To Haves

• Head Start/Early Head Start experience preferred.
• Fluent in English to Spanish and or other languages present in the local area.
• Bilingual preferred: English/Spanish or English and other languages present in the local area.

Responsibilities

• Conduct eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance (ERSEA).
• Facilitate parent engagement.
• Provide high-quality health, mental health, nutrition support and resource linkage.
• Build partnerships with families to assist them in identifying their own goals, strengths, needed services and support system.
• Assist with developing and implementing family partnership agreements that outline families strategies and timetable for achieving their own goals.
• Manage and maintain recordkeeping of the family comprehensive file.
• Initiate collaborative partnerships with parents to establish mutual trust and respect.
• Assess family needs for social services, develop individualized plans, and deliver or coordinate services.
• Conduct and document follow-up on all referrals.
• Establish Family Partnership Agreements (FPA) with families and identify strengths, needs, and interests.
• Facilitate follow-up on Family Partnership Agreement (FPA) goals with families.
• Provide comprehensive community resource information to families.
• Refer families to community agencies/programs and assess the assistance received.
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with community organizations.
• Report suspected child abuse and/or neglect following program procedures and Florida law.
• Serve on a community board located in the area of the assigned Head Start/Early Head Start site.
• Develop a working knowledge of community resources and visit major agencies for updates.
• Implement, document, and report on recruitment, selection, and enrollment of eligible children and families.
• Recruit prospective families and complete the enrollment process.
• Maintain funded enrollment and fill Head Start/Early Head Start vacancies within 30 days.
• Accurately verify and determine eligibility for Head Start/Early Head Start enrollment.
• Monitor attendance and maintain an average daily attendance above 85%.
• Follow up with families experiencing participation or attendance problems.
• Coordinate and implement monthly parent committee meetings.
• Ensure elected Policy Council representative attendance at Program’s Policy Council monthly meeting.
• Coordinate monthly parent engagement activities through support groups.
• Implement a comprehensive, individualized, and developmental parent engagement and education program.
• Ensure comprehensive, timely two-way communication between parents, Head Start staff, and community individuals/organizations.
• Encourage parent volunteerism throughout the program.
• Provide parents regular opportunities to work together on activities they helped develop.
• Encourage parents to take an active role in making community services more responsive to their goals and needs.
• Promote full child/family participation in program activities.
• Assist parents with the transition process into Head Start and from Head Start to kindergarten.
• Assist with the completion of child health screening and other required screenings/assessments.
• Promote child and family wellness and the establishment of a medical and dental “home”.
• Provide physical/dental/mental health and nutrition education activities.
• Provide health, safety, and family literacy activities to parents.
• Assist and support families with engaging and completing disability paperwork for their child.
• Ensure an appropriate written transition plan is prepared for all Early Head Start children.
• Document all efforts to assist families, track family partnership efforts and outcomes, and record/monitor referrals.
• Collect child and family data and enter into ChildPlus; monitor, update, and prepare data reports.
• Maintain accurate, objective, timely, and confidential records.
• Coordinate with center staff to integrate family partnership goals with classroom efforts.
• Share information with teachers to ensure coordinated services.
• Attend parent/teacher conferences as requested.
• Attend multi-team development meetings and staffings as requested.
• Ensure an appropriate written transition plan is prepared for all children.
• Participate in team management functions of planning, implementing, and evaluating family and community engagement goals.
• Participate in in-service training, workshops, conferences, and college courses.
• Maintain strict confidentiality regarding Head Start/Early Head Start children, families, and staff.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental and Vision
• Telehealth (24/7 online access to Doctors)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Employer paid life insurance (1X salary)
• 13 paid holidays + 1 floating holiday
• Generous PTO policy (starting at 16 working days a year)
• 403(b) Retirement plan with 3% discretionary employer match OR 3% student loan repayment reimbursement
• Tuition reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level